Telephone Numbers, The

Telephone Numbers, The

The Ballad of Doug

Meritorio

***"There’s always good music in San Francisco, you just never hear about it till someone somewhere else finally pays attention. The Telephone Numbers and contemporaries live in the tiny spaces between row houses in the outer districts of San Francisco. You can hear them earnestly strumming through cheap practice amps choked with probably too much reverb and trying to craft ambitious sounds with no career ambitions and few resources. These bands were rarely invited to play the bigger venues in their own hometown when it mattered. They had their own intimate shows wherever they could beg for space, and that’s maybe more fun. Thomas Rubenstein is 100% from this subculture of record geeks and renters, haunting bedrooms studios and fog-damp garage practice spaces. He writes tragic love songs that pull from classic power-pop and 80s/90s indie. He does in fact have a Teenage Fanclub tattoo and is rarely not listening to Prefab Sprout or some other over-the-top heartbreaking pop on the way to earn his hourly wage. He recruited a whole host of pals to help him make The Ballad of Doug, which may or may not be a concept album about the rise and fall of the Gin Blossoms. The touches of violin, layers of guitar and soaring backing vocals make this seem bigger than just a DIY record, and it is. These tunes are worthy of some historic festival slot or hit parade appearance, but for now you can dream with the vinyl on your deck or the...

Telephone Numbers, The

Weird Sisters

Meritorio

***Following on from 2021's The Ballad Of Doug LP, San Francisco’s The Telephone Numbers are back with a brand new 7inch entitled 'Weird Sisters.' "I often feel like I can only write one song over and over. 'Weird Sisters' was a conscious attempt of reconciling myself with this sense. To me the song is a grab-bag of many of the songwriting tricks I’ve picked up over the years and a celebration of my limitations."—Thomas Rubenstein (The Telephone Numbers).

Telephone Numbers, The

Leviathan

Fruits & Flowers

San Francisco’s music scene has been driven deep underground but is still thriving like crazy, variations on dreamy guitar pop are turning into sold-out tapes and limited vinyl obsessions. Next up is The Telephone Numbers, a band led by SF native Thomas Rubenstein and made up of Inner Richmond neighborhood locals. Rubenstein writes lovely heartfelt songs, equal parts early ‘90s indie pop and ’80s Australian rock, while the band helps supply lush arrangements: 12-string guitars, harmonies, feedback and soaring violin. RIYL The Lemonheads, Teenage Fanclub, The Church.